Recess is a favorite part of the day for many school-aged children. As a designer, I can relate. While many of my peers complain of their corporate office environments where they relate their working experiences to situations from the movie Office Space, my daily professional activities are often equated to those of a Kindergartener. I draw, color and play with blocks. Additionally, as a project progresses into the Construction Administration phase, there are site visits. These site visits are the equivalent of recess for those that have an undying enthusiasm for the built environment.
School design is different than office design. In offices, there are two types of spaces - public and private. The public spaces are open to everyone whereas the private spaces are only for employees. Some companies have interstitial zones, often called 'wintergardens' or 'communicative areas.' These areas may be entirely public or entirely private, but often they exist somewhere between the two. Traditionally, in schools, the distinction has been between internal (classrooms) and external (playground) spaces. (Today, some schools have a public and private distinction due to new security demands.)
When designing a school, it is important that the external spaces are considered as much as the internal spaces. If designed and utilized correctly, both can be important educational spaces. As more attention is drawn to finding the best solutions for incorporating technological advances into educational design, we should not overlook those spaces where the activities occur that children most frequently contribute to the favorite part of their day.
As a designer, "playing" with the notion of blending the external and internal spaces to create one educational continuum, several questions arise. Are there interstitial zones that exist between the external and the internal? How are these zones utilized? Are there elements and/or lessons of the playground that can be incorporated into the classroom and vice versa?
In my research, I have come across two nonprofit organizations that are seeking to improve playground experiences through different approaches. The first, Playworks, is focusing on training for playground supervisors, while the second, Learning Landscape Network, is focusing on infrastructure to aid in learning games.
1. Playworks
Playworks was recently featured in The New York Times article, "The Power of the Playground" by David Bornstein. He describes the playground as a defining experience that teaches play, leadership and cooperative skills. Playworks is seeking to "improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play."
The Learning Landscape Network is a Project H Design initiative. Through game play and fun physical activity, a learning landscape can be utilized by elementary students. Their website contains a great database of games that teach core subjects, social skills and leadership. The construction documents for the "learning landscape," which can be easily construction with a few volunteers and at no cost, are also available on the website.
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